Low periapsis provides a unique opportunity to investigate the chemical and dynamical properties of the deep ionosphere, thermosphere, and the interaction between the atmosphere and the solar wind, therefore atmospheric escape, which may have played a crucial role in removing atmosphere and water from the planet.
PM, or more specifically, PM2.5, similar to CO2, is nearly impossible to be removed from atmosphere by dissolving in the rain like SO2 or NOx, or be captured by technologies with acceptable cost in the real manufacturing processes.
Rather, it is the palpable air of remove, an atmosphere of entitlement so casually assumed that it makes the effetely languid models in those Ralph Lauren ads seem like jokes or cartoons.
This image illustrates possible ways methane might be added to Mars' atmosphere (sources) and removed from the atmosphere (sinks).
A central hurdle is that carbon dioxide accumulates in the atmosphere like unpaid credit card debt as long as emissions exceed the rate at which the gas is naturally removed from the atmosphere by the oceans and plants.
In contrast, carbon has been removed from the atmosphere via the burial of organic sediments.
"Particles in the ocean sink, taking with them lots of carbon that was removed from the atmosphere.
Methane, by contrast, is mostly removed from the atmosphere by chemical reaction, persisting for about 12 years.
Nitrous oxide is destroyed in the stratosphere and removed from the atmosphere more slowly than methane, persisting for around 114 years.
Studies like this will provide a better understanding of how much CO2 is removed from the atmosphere in shelf seas today.
